Payton is coming home when the New Orleans Saints (11-5) visit the Philadelphia Eagles (10-6) in an NFC wild-card playoff game Saturday night. The Saints coach spent his formative years in the Philadelphia suburb of Newtown Square in the early 1970s, and attended the Flyers' Stanley Cup championship parade as an 11-year-old in 1975.
"There are a lot of friends and family back there," he said. "The first pro football game was at the Vet. The first baseball game was at the Vet. The first college game was Army-Navy. The Flyers winning back to back Stanley Cups,Al Horford Jersey, all of those things were a part of my childhood and so the sports fans are amazing there, very passionate and a real die-hard fan base. That presents challenges when you play, especially in the playoffs."
